Dragan's Redemption Book One of the Manor at Echo Lake Trilogy (14 page)

Nodding his head
,
James
hurried
to the kitchen.  His boss had changed since meeting Amira, and the change was very visible.  At first he thought that he was the only one to notice, but when Daphne called from the hospital, and then Aaron returning home both asking what was going on, he realized that others closest to the doctor noticed
the change
.
  Dragan had a purpose
now where he never had before
,
and a light seemed to have been lit from the inside out.
  Every
one pretty much agreed that he
was the only one that
has not
yet
realized the change in him
.

After informing the
c
hef of the orders, James went and packed an overnight bag for Dragan.  He was not sure if this was the intention
,
but he was going to do whatever he could to convince the man to stay with the young woman.

Dragan
placed his journals into a leather briefcase
,
looking up as James walked in.  Noticing his overnight bag in his hand, his eyebrows rose and a look of gratitude crossed his face at his
butler’s
intuition.

“I thought you might need a few fresh items in case you chose to stay overnight
,
Sir.”

“You,
James,
are
indispensable
to me.”

“I am heading back to the cottage now, please inform Aaron of the details
,
and tell him I will call when I can.”

“Of course.  The
c
hef has already put your request of food in your car.  Please tell Miss Amira I wish her a speedy recovery.”

Driving back over to the tiny cottage, Dragan wondered what he was doing.  She probably just had a
cold
, which
was nothing that
rest
couldn’t
cure. 
He w
onder
ed
if
the
molehill he was turning into a mountain had anything to do with wanting to get to know her better
.

Approaching the
door,
he could hear Shadow scratching and barking as if to get his attention. 
Running
the remaining
few
feet, he quickly entered the house.  Shadow was
frantic, nip
ping at his arm to make him hurry.

Dragan ran into the bedroom.  Amira was tossing frantically
,
twis
t
ing and moaning
,
tangled in the
sheets.

Touching her skin, he pulled back stunned.  She was on fire.  Pulling the sheets
off
her
,
he hurried to the bathroom, turning the faucet on
and
filling the tub with cool water.  As it filled
,
he w
e
nt back to lift her up gently in h
is
arms
,
carrying
her to the bathroom.

Amira felt herself floating.  Struggling to open her eyes, she looked up at Dragan’s face.  His teeth were clenched
,
and he seemed angry.  “Are you mad at me?”

Looking down, he thought that her eyes seemed even a deeper shade of green with the fever.  His heart constricted
with worry
.

“Of course not
,
Amira.  T
his is going to feel a bit shocking to your system, but your fever is really high
,
and I need to get it down.” 

Amira gasped
as the water touched her skin as he lowered her into the tub
fully clothed
,
and she
clutched
at his arms trying to prevent him from putting her into the freezing water.

“
Shhh, i
t’s ok
ay
.  I won’t let go of you.”  Kneeling at the edge of the tub, he
kept his arms around her
as
he held her.  Her head resting on his arm fell to one side, and he realized that she
was
unconscious
.

Afte
r
several minutes, her eyes reopened.  She actually looked better to him.
  Weakly smiling up at him, her voice came out in a whisper.

“Hi
,
Dragan.”

“Hi
,
Amira.”

“Whatch
a
doing?”

Dragan laughed.

“Oh, nothing much.  Just hanging out in the bathroom with you.”

Looking at him, she tried to
pull away
.  “Your clothes are all wet.”

“They will dry.”

“I don’t feel well
,
Dragan.”

“I know
,
sweetheart.”

Sighing
,
she leaned her head against his chest.  “
Did you just call me sweetheart? 
The water feels good.  I wasn’t feeling too good after you left.”

“You will feel better soon, Amira
,
I promise.”

Pulling the stopper in the tub to drain the water, he reached for the towel
hanging
from the silver rack.

“I am going to lift you up now
,
Amira.  Are you ready?”

Nodding her head, she felt herself floating again.  He was so strong
. 

“Amira, I need to get you out of these wet clothes. 
Do you think that you can do it by yourself?”

Looking up
,
Amira was shocked to see his face redden.

“Dr. Reynolds, are you blushing?”

“Of course not
,
I am a doctor.”

“I think I can.  If you could just bring me to the bedroom.”

Dragan set her down gently near the bed.  “Where
are
your
night clothes,
Amira?”

Amira nodded her head towards the dresser along the far wall as she pulled the wet
clothes off her body
.
Her legs felt shaky
,
and she wasn’t sure how much longer she would be able to stand.
  Pulling out the first
nightgown
he found
,
he turned just as she was slipping off her
underwear
.  Quickly looking away, he tossed the dry
clothes
on the bed.

“Dr. Reynolds, I cannot believe that you are that uncomfortable with a naked body.”

Dragan walked out the door to the kitchen.  “And I cannot believe that you have so little modesty in front of a stranger.”

Amira smiled to herself realizing he was not as unaffected about her as he wanted her to believe.

Dragan
was not
unaffected.  Seeing a
person’s
body undressed was not something new to him. 
Nevertheless,
she was the first one that he desired to the point of
it
being
all-consuming
.  The rush that went through him at
seeing
her naked breasts,
curved body
, and the gentle swells
, narrowing down
to
the soft v
ee
between her legs
was too much
,
and h
is own body
tightened
in response to her nakedness.  Even now, reliving that moment caused his blood to push strong through him.  He need
ed
to control himself.  Sorting through
t
he box that his Chef had prepared
,
he p
our
ed
some of the soup into a large mug
before placing it
onto a tray with some
crackers, water
and ibuprofen he
brought
from the manor.

Walking back into her bedroom, he was
relieved
to see that she was completely dressed and laying back on the bed.  Setting the tray on the nightstand
,
he sat down next to her touching her
forehead
.

“You still have a very high
temperature
.  I need to get this medicine into you so that we can bring it down.  If it doesn’t work, I am going to bring you to the hospital.”

“You most certainly will not.  Look, I appreciate all of this, I really do. 
However,
I am letting you
know
right now
that
I am fine.  If I feel worse, I will call my doctor.”

Lifting
up the mug and
spoon
, he motioned for her to sit up before moving
the
spoon next her lips. 
Automatically
she opened her mouth, allowing him to feed her.
She felt very tired
again
and after
several
spoonfuls
, she held up her hand.  “
No
more, thank you.  I just want to rest.”

Watching her as she slid
down on the bed
,
he started to stand when he felt her hand on his thigh.  “Please don’t leave right now
,
Dragan
.”  She sounded afraid
.

Covering her hand with one of his own, he reached across to brush her
hair
away from her now closed eyes.
  She was asleep before
she could hear
his whispered words.

“I will stay for as long as you need me
,
Amira.”

Dragan woke with a start attempting to figure out what it was that disturbed him.  Looking over at Amira
,
he watched as she tossed and turned in her sleep.
  The fever was still raging within her.  Jumping out of bed
,
he
ran into the bathroom grabbing a wet cloth again.  Sitting next to her, his hands gentle on her face
,
he smoothed the cloth along her skin.  Feeling the
cool touch,
she woke lookin
g up at his face.  Her eyes
glazed once again.  He was worried.

Her voice dry and cracked, she started to struggle
under his administrations
.  “Please, I don’t want to die.
  Please Father, pray for me.”

Realizing that she did not recognize him
,
his hand stilled
at her words
.  “You are not going to die
,
Amira.”

“Oh, Father
, b
ut you know I am.  Please, I am begging you!  Please pray for me.”

Unsure, Dragan placed the c
ool cloth
on her head. 
Willing to do anything to ease her
agitation,
he started to
speak
softly
,
pray
ing
.  “Our Father, which art in heaven….”

“Hallowed by thy name.”
 
Amira’s voice
,
weak and
frantic
,
spoke the words with him.

“Thy
kingdom
come, thy will be done
,
o
n earth as it is in Heaven.  Give us this day, our
daily
bread and forgives us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the
kingdom
and the power and the glory for ever.  Amen.”

Dragan shivered as gooseflesh broke out over his skin.  Her words, as she spoke with him
,
made him want to weep.
  Her body stilled when they finished
,
and she inhaled deeply closing her eyes
falling to sleep
once more.  Dragan
had the sensation that they
were being watched.  Looking aroun
d the
bedroom
,
he saw nothing.  Hearing a light tapping, he loo
k
ed over at Shadow. 
The wolf’s
tail was thumping against the floor
while
staring
into the corner
.